Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery

06/11/2026

🎨Our community gopher tortoise mosaic is now on display at the aquarium!

🖌️This mural was created by the local community to celebrate National Gopher Tortoise Day on April 10th, 2026. Each individual "scute" (the hexagonal plates that make up a tortoise's shell) was decorated by children from a local daycare and visitors to the aquarium.

🐢Just as a real tortoise shell is made of many parts that grow together to protect the animal, this mural represents the many individuals who come together to protect our local wildlife.

If you colored a scute, your artwork is now a permanent part of this display!

Stop by the aquarium to see the display in person! We are open Monday - Sunday 8:00-3:00 and closed on federal holidays.

05/20/2026

Congratulations to one of our volunteers who finished FOURTH in the NATION in the women’s 1X rowing event! Sophia was one of our best volunteers and now she is one of the best in the nation at rowing!

History made for NSU Rowing. 🚣‍♀️

Sophia Witman finished 4th in the nation in the Women’s 1x, the highest national finish for a women’s single in NSU Rowing history. After winning her heat by more than 50 seconds and missing first in her semifinal by just .03 seconds, Sophia earned her spot in the Grand Final and delivered a record-setting performance.

05/14/2026

🚨 Fish Stocking Update 🚨

🎣 Our staff has been busy raising, counting, and stocking Largemouth Bass. In partnership with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, we released over 640,000 bass all across Louisiana! These fingerlings are part of our ongoing mission to enhance recreational fishing and, by working with LDWF, we’re making sure that Louisiana remains a “Sportsman’s Paradise” for generations of anglers.

📕 Did you know?
Supplemental stocking helps maintain healthy bass populations in areas where natural reproduction might need a helping hand

By ensuring our lakes remain places where people can continue to catch big bass, we are supporting local economies, jobs, and the timeless tradition of Louisiana Fishing

🛻 Where did these fish go?
These 640,000 fish were successfully released into:
Toledo Bend
Grand Bayou
Black Lake
Clear Lake
Sibley Lake
Kepler Creek Lake
Black Bayou Lake
Black Bayou Reservoir
Austin Lake
Harmon Lake

A huge shoutout goes to our dedicated, hardworking staff and partners at LDWF’s Booker Fowler Fish Hatchery for all the work that went into making this a successful largemouth bass year!

05/07/2026

🎣 A Surprise Guest Stopped By The Hatchery🐊

‼️ In partnership with Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, our crew has been busy harvesting largemouth bass in preparation for stocking into water bodies across Louisiana. Everything was going great - right up until we felt something heavy in the net. Imagine reaching for a net of largemouth bass and being met with an alligator looking back at you! 😳

📝 Lesson for the day

1. A 2-inch bass is ok. An alligator in the bass net is an effective “caffeine alternative!”

Don’t worry though, our toothy friend was safely relocated out of the net and the fish are officially on the move!

🚨 Stay tuned for upcoming stocking updates on where these bass were released!

04/10/2026

🐢Today we’re celebrating National Gopher Tortoise Day! At Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery, these animals are a big part of our conservation mission.

📌Did you know gopher tortoises are considered a keystone species? Their burrows provide shelter for more than 300 other animals, from frogs and snakes to small mammals and insects. When we help gopher tortoises, we’re helping an entire ecosystem thrive.

✏️Through our head-start program, we raise young tortoises for two years before releasing them into the wild—giving them a better chance to survive and grow strong.

🌎Want to be part of the action? Visitors can stop by our aquarium to see a gopher tortoise in person! You can also contribute to our community art project—color a hexagon and help us build a giant gopher tortoise mural!

04/01/2026

Check out the post below for a summary of our recently completed, “first of its kind” collaborative project on alligator snapping turtles! Thanks to all the partners involved who helped make this project a success!

03/31/2026

🐢HELP US BUILD A SHELL!🐢

We’re celebrating National Gopher Tortoise Day with a special community art project here at Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery—and we want YOU to be a part of it!

Visitors are invited to stop by the aquarium and visit our art station!🎨 The aquarium is open Monday-Sunday 8:00-3:00.

How to join in:
🖍️Decorate a “Scute”: Pick up a hexagon and draw a forest friend or a native plant.
🧩Leave Your Mark: We’ll seal your art into our giant gopher tortoise mural which will be displayed here at the hatchery!

Stay tuned to see the reveal date for the mural! We can't wait to see your designs! 🌿

03/25/2026

03/24/2026

Ever seen a floating island of ants like this?🐜

🛟It might look strange, but this is actually a survival raft! When water levels rise, ants link together and float as one big group, working together to make it to dry land!

👇Here's how it works:
-They lock together using their legs and bodies to stay afloat
-The queen and young stay safe in the middle
-Ants take turns being on the outside so no one stays underwater too long

Keep an eye out next time you're walking the levees... you might spot one drifting by👀

02/25/2026

Redear Sunfish (aka “shell cracker”) didn’t get their nickname for nothing — they love crushing snails like it’s their full time job. Bluegill, on the other hand, are the bold, blue cheeked overachievers of the pond. They are always hungry, always willing to bite, and always ready to make an angler feel like a pro.

At Natchitoches National Fish Hatchery, we raise both of these fan-favorite sunfish to help increase fishing opportunities across the state. That means more bites, more smiles, and more “just one more cast” for anglers of all ages.

Small fish, big personalities, and a whole lot of fun waiting at the end of the line!